Cheat Engine

[CheatBastard]

I'm just curious about your opinion on having some kind of DRM on those free trainers that some people make. For now, the DRM that I found in trainers created by certain people require that you have an online connection. When you use their trainer, you need to get a code from their web/blog site to put into the trainer. After you input that, the trainer connects to somewhere to send some kind of data to them and then you can use the trainer.

One free trainer maker said that people should quit whining about his trainer's DRM because "everybody has internet". He also said that he's just "collecting data/stats". Unfortunately, some people who used his trainer found some adware secretly packed and then installed without their consent.

Personally, I was one of the people who used this person's trainer when they didn't have this online DRM requirement and hidden adware. His trainers were really great and I'd say he's one of the best free trainer makers out there in my opinion. The first time I noticed him use this online DRM, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, the reason being that I never encountered any problems with his trainers before. The bad thing is that when I used his new trainers that now feature online DRM, I also got infected with some adware that I had to clean up. Ever since then, I stopped using this person's trainers.

I do understand that the trainers are free and if we don't trust the trainer and its maker, then we don't have to use it. I also understand that some trainer makers want to make some money out of their creations. I don't find anything wrong with monetizing something that they've worked on. The problem I have is that they could have done it in a way that didn't involve the installation of hidden adware.

For example, I was fine with downloading this person's trainers before using one of those "adfly" or whatever links where for every few clicks, the guy earned some money. I really have no problem with this kind of way for the guy to make money because it's all clear as day to me. There's no malice in it. I click his link, he gets some money, I get his trainer and I get to play on my merry way. I just don't like being tricked into believing that nothing else has been packed into the trainer just for the sake of the guy getting a few extra points or whatever because his adware has been installed on my pc. That's very deceitful and unfair.

The second problem I have aside from the hidden adware, is the requirement to connect online just for the trainer to work. I just don't feel comfortable using anything that sends unknown data from my computer to somebody on the net that I don't even know in person. Even if he says "Oh I just want to collect data to see how many people use my trainer!", how can you really be sure that's all he's collecting? How can you be sure that even if he's honest to goodness just doing that, his work won't get compromised by some adware company that steals personal data from our computer?

In the end, my personal conclusion is that Hidden Adware and the DRMs ruin the spirit of providing joy to gamers in the form of free trainers. There is nothing wrong with the free trainer maker earning money, but please just don't secretly pack it into your trainers where it would install itself without our knowledge. Just be honest and use some kind of link where you earn money for your work via clicks or even donations. Secretly installing adware in our computer just causes you to lose reputation and gamers end up using another person's trainer. Instead of building up a fan base or followers, you end up losing them because of your deceitful ways, no matter how nice the features of your trainers are. Having to always connect online and type in your trainer's code for it to work is also pretty pointless if you're just "collecting data". It's just an extra hindrance that you have placed on the gamers and another reason for gamers to doubt your work. If you want to collect data, just make a forum survey or something like that. I'm pretty sure the people who appreciate your work would happily take the time to answer your questions and help you fill out the data you need.

Yes, it all goes back to "If you don't trust the trainer and its maker, then don't use it!". I don't download his trainers anymore.

Anyway, feel free to share your thoughts about free trainer DRMs and hidden adware. Just remember, no finger pointing especially without evidence. The discussion is only about the act of having DRMs and hidden adware on free trainers, not the names of the people who make them.

[justa_dude]

I absolutely object to this kind of spyware. One of the most core tenets of security is the Principle of Least Privilege. If the trainer doesn't need to connect to the Internet for the purpose of cheating in a game, then it shouldn't. I apply this principle to games, so of course I'd also apply it to trainers. I understand that having the author know when I launch a game and how long I play it, along with whatever other metrics he's recording, isn't truly a big deal, but there's no reason for him to know either. That said, if he's also installing adware then it moves beyond unethical into downright malicious - of course you shouldn't run his software. I'd also advise you to ignore the comments made by whoever this person is and their sycophants.

[Zaladine]

Exactly one of my reason that i prefer tables than trainers...

[Geri]

Alright, this discussion is not a new thing on the forum. To make it clear:

If someone is spreading malware using this forum, he can expect a ban. Dark Byte has shown zero tolerance about stuff like this in the past.

So yes, I downloaded one trainer like that, yes I checked the packets being sent and received (they were not encrypted) and looked for signs of malware. I didn't find anything, but I don't use these trainers and I have checked only one of them for just like a minute.

If there is a trainer on this forum that is installing anything on your computer without your knowledge, I want to know.

So I send you a PM and please reply to it with the details. Which trainer, which malware, what happened exactly and I will look into it (again).

[TsTg]

putting DRM and adding malware\adware to a trainer (which is a game hack, and developers hate it) is so stupid, and a user who use that (with full respect), and he KNOWS these things exist in that trainer is more dumb than the trainer maker, why would i use a program to hack a game, while it contains what would hack my pc for no reason ??, or steal info from it in anyway .

if i am a noob player in a game, and i need a trainer but can't find one, neither can do trainer myself, i would just go uninstall the game, while keeping my pc safe .

[Gniarf]

@TsTg (and others): if you can't make/find a trainer, you can still go down to the cheat request section and place a request on your game. I'm pretty sure "I'd like a table with the same options as this trainer but without the crapware" is a valid request, as long as we're talking about singleplayer games.


...That being said I'm probably going to wtf hard the day I see TsTg place a request...

[Lucifer66]

I totally hate adware, malware, DRM, or anything other than what I'm supposed to be getting. Hidden or not. In fact I wasn't at all happy with Cheat engine 6.3 having a browser hijacker bundled with it when I installed it. Yes they did give the option to decline it, but it still irritates me. It makes you wonder what else is in there they didn't tell you about and then you just want to cancel the whole thing. You feel like you can't trust anything they make anymore. Sorry, but it's a bad move when you got all these people trying to infect your computer. Trust is easy to loose and very hard to regain.

[++METHOS]